The ALMOST faux pas

December 28, 2009 (Still 21 weeks pregnant)

Have you ever asked someone if they are pregnant when they're not? Or asked if someone was a drag queen and they weren't (oops...sorry...guess that was just me!!) Well, I've made my share of faux pas over the years and so I made a quick decision today to leap into another possibly mortifying question:
I saw a woman at the park with 2 girls- one who looked about Christian's age, but had a different look to her eyes and seemed slightly delayed. I thought for sure she had Down Syndrome, but if it was, her features were very mild in relation to DS. But, I am dying to feel like I am not the only one going through this, so I took a gulp and said, "Can I ask you something? Does your daughter have Down Syndrome?" (Insert massive heart racing here) She said, "No, actually she doesn't." (Oh God.) "But, she does have a genetic abnormality that is very unusual. I get asked if she has Down Syndrome all of the time." (Okay...survivably embarassing.) I had a great talk with her after explaining why I asked the question. She was really reassuring that there is a large Down Syndrome community and living in LA, we should be able to find a lot of resources. It struck me that as alone as I feel, she must really struggle with the isolation of a genetic condition so rare that there are no support groups or online networks. Even still, she talked about how her youngest daughter really is a gift to her- in a way different than her older daughter was. She also talked about the challenges, mostly having to do with the tireless work of getting her child to therapies every day of the week. It was good to talk to someone in person, even if our situations are not quite the same.

Then, Christian & I met Denise Richards, who let Christian hold her teeny tiny puppy. So L.A.! :)

Last thought for now: I met a woman online who has a blog about her daughter with DS and I checked it out today. She has her personal updates but also articles and other interesting items about DS on her page. One article was entitled, "If Adults with Down Syndrome Ruled the World". It was so cute-mentioning the love, compassion and slower pace of exploring the world that people with DS seem to possess. And I thought, "Oh, Lord, you really are going to be teaching me a new lesson aren't you? My Type A personality is going to take a big hit, I can tell!"